The World Tour Finals has been around since 1970. Going under different names over the years, including the Masters Grand Prix and Tennis Masters Cup-among others, the draw of such a tournament is obvious. It is not set up like a normal tournament. The top 8 in the rankings at the end of the year are set up in 2 brackets of 4 players, each of which is a round robin competition. The top 2 from each group move on to the semifinals and then the finals if they win.

Who wouldn’t want to watch such a tournament? There should be no runaway matches. Every single match is a matchup of two top 10 players who should be able to compete at the highest level on the highest stage. Every match matters. Fans know that no matter which match they choose to attend or watch will be quality and have the potential to be amazing.

Of course, this just makes us wonder why the World Tour Finals is not more popular and prestigious than it is. Certainly the ATP would love it if this event could be viewed as on par with the Slams, at the very least. The setup for the very best tournament on tour is there. For whatever reason, it is just not viewed by fans as players alike as the very top event that it could be. If I had to guess, I would say that the main reason is that a lot of players are beat up and not at their very best by the time the World Tour Finals rolls around That being said, of course, fans still love it and it is viewed as a pretty big deal by players.

The Race:

Four players have already punched their tickets to the World Tour Finals. Djokovic and Nadal had each clinched a spot before the end of Wimbledon while Federer and Murray qualified during the US Open. That leaves four spots left. David Ferrer has virtually qualified and can guarantee himself a spot with a win this week in Tokyo. The last three spots, however, are decently up for grabs. You can view the official year-to-date “Race” rankings here.

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